STRINGS BETWEEN US

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: OF RANKINGS, RUINS, AND THE BOY WHO

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: OF RANKINGS, RUINS, AND THE BOY WHO SHOULD'VE STAYED GONE

Chaos. Literal chaos.

That's the only word for the storm currently tearing through the Sovereign Court — Supreme Allievo Academy's grand Main Building, now sounding like a stadium during sudden death overtime.

It felt like every single student was crammed into the central hall, all because of one thing:

Midterm results.

Displayed live on giant digital screens, because apparently academic achievement here needs the same drama level as a championship match. Students were screaming, crying, shouting—basically performing for the invisible cameras.

Honestly? Embarrassing.

I stood calmly near the back, sipping my iced Spanish latte, watching it all unfold like some trashy reality show. The kind where you already know the villain's about to get blindsided, but you keep watching anyway.

Then came my friends—dragging me right into the madness.

"You're so late!" Jodie hissed, pulling my wrist."They just posted it! The whole school's going insane!"

I eyed her like she'd just told me someone was giving out free concert tickets to a band I didn't like.

"I'm not here for the circus," I muttered, brushing past them.

But before I could walk away—

There it was.

The gasps.
The whispers.
The kind of reactions you'd expect if a tsunami had just swept through.

"No. Freaking. Way."
"She beat Khaizer Dylan Dela Vega?!"
"Wait—who even is Arielle Rylance Del Rio?!"

I stepped closer. And there it was—my name.

At the very top.

Rank 1: Arielle Rylance Del Rio.
Right above Khaizer Dylan Dela Vega.
Right above Bianca Andessa Madriaga.

It hit like lightning. Not because I doubted I could, but because I always knew I could. I wasn't trained and hailed in Celestine for nothing. Supreme Allievo Academy treats academic ranks like a war—back in Celestine, we didn't just fight on the battlefield.
We built it.
Of course, no one here knew that.

And just like that, the whispers flipped.

The stares turned sharp.

"That's the transferee!"
"She's not just pretty—she's got brains too."
"Bianchi's done. Maybe only Khaizer can compete with her now?"

Bianchi shoved through the crowd—pale face, clenched jaw.

"This has to be a mistake," she muttered.

"It's not."

Everyone turned toward the voice. A man in a navy suit, eyes sharp and steady, stepped forward.

"Mr. Antonio Levesque," someone whispered. "The Headmaster."

Perfect. Saichel's dad. I almost forgot about him.

I just recently found out that Supreme Allievo Academy was owned by Tito Antonio Levesque. No wonder when Saichel visited me last summer, he acted like he knew KD. Because he really does know him.
Mom knows it too. And they both didn't tell me.
Of course they didn't. Why give me the courtesy of context when they could just sit back and watch me trip over it later?